Love can be unpredictable
by Dankuso12
Summary: Aaron Luthor is sick of his Dad controlling his life, one day he's allowed to attend a public school away from his restricted life. How will this decision affect his life and who is the handsome, silent type who caught his attention? It's true, sometimes love can be unpredictable. Warning: Eventual lemons, yaoi.
1. Prologue

**Here's a new version of my story that involves Superboy x OC. I thought it would make a better storyline and make sense. The OC will be the same name just, not with abilities. Hope you enjoy!**

Being the son of a rich-criminal who hates your favourite idol is quite frustrating. Lucky for you though; because you're not me. Other kids learnt basic math, finger painting and the ABCs. I learned the fundamentals of business, computer science and most importantly, reasons to hate Superman. While I found the computer science skills beneficial, and the business rules as kind of lame, one thing I never agreed with was hating one of the best heroes on the planet. Superman is awesome. Innocent people are still walking about today because of him. I just don't see how such a hero, willing to make sacrifices to help others, can be hated by my father. The man has good intentions, but the way he expresses them is unusual. Nowadays I wonder if he lost his way somewhere down the road to killing Superman, but what else can you expect when you're Dad is Lex Luthor.

The man has tried to conform me to be just like him; putting a wicked twist on the phrase, 'like father, like son'. He taught me computers and finance, so I can take over the company when he leaves. He doesn't even bother to ask, he justs decides. Such as with every other aspect of my life. To add to that burn, because of his strict schedule I never got to go outside to meet other people my age or even to talk to the press. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, there is little evidence of my existence. No one would recognise me as the son of Lex Luthor. It was that fact though, that sparked an idea.

"But dad..."

"But no", Dad replied. He sat down at his desk which stood in front of plate glass windows which looked over the kingdom of Metropolis. "Dad, it'd work.", I countered. Dad didn't let down though, "it'd be insane." I planned that instead of getting private tutors and round the clock homework, I'd attend a public high school and get a handle on normal life. "No one would recognise me; I'm not gonna be in danger.", I explained. I hoped that my dad would go along with something like this, but when I think about that, I remember that I'm talking about my dad. "You're getting a top-level education from some of the best tutors in the country.", Dad argues, "what's wrong with that?" "What's wrong...", I reply, "Is that your schedule doesn't allow me to live a social life." "Why would you need one?", Dad laughs. The fact that Dad finds having a social life a joke explains way too much. "Because I want to live a life that isn't influenced by business and politics.", I argue. "It's business and politics that lead to success.", he counters. "It also leads to being lonely.", I say, "Dad I just want a chance to have a life

like everyone else." "Every time you go to prison", I continue stepping closer to his desk, "I have no one to talk to, no one to even give me a shoulder to cry on when I fear that each time might be the last time I ever see you again. Please, give me a chance to find people who can help me through that." Dad sighed, "I know that you're scared and I'm scared too. Scared that I'm never going to make it home to see you again." "But I don't want to let out of my sight, it's too dangerous. My decision is final.", he decides looking down to research his workload for the day.

When arguing with my dad, it was impossible when it came to my life choices. I decided to try a new approach, "How about an experiment?" Dad looks up. "I spend a year at a public high school; if it proves to do good for the company and myself, then I should be allowed to stay.", I explained, "But if it turns out to be a bad experience, then I'll go back to private tutoring." My dad puts on a familiar face showing he's contemplating the idea. "Alright", he agrees, "One year, are we clear?" A grin quickly grows on my face, a welcome surprise. "Yes sir", I say, "Thank you." I turn to head for the door but as I reach the handle, "Not only that..." I turn to face my dad who was now standing only a couple of steps from me. "If it fails, then I'll have "to make the rest of your choices for you. Because this one was such a failure." I should have expected this. "Alright, but if it succeeds", I answer, "I make my choices for me...not you." Lex Luthor was a gambler, but I was ready to deal.

"You have a deal", he replies before heading back to his desk to continue his work.

I raced to my room as fast as the Flash as my head was already going over preparations. What would I say? What would I do? What would I wear? I reached my room where I headed to the wardrobe to pick out some casual clothes for school. Unfortunately, all I had in there were bullshit, corporate suits. I'd have to order some online before school starts. In the meantime, I went to my laptop and began to search for schools that would be perfect. It would need to be somewhere that isn't in one of the major cities; they're the most targeted schools for kidnappings, especially in Gotham. Dad would have a rant if I chose one of those. Secondly, the school would have to be close to Metropolis. Then, Dad won't worry about long distance. It'd also have to be somewhere where no one would've even heard of me, not even a single bit of evidence. That should satisfy Dad.

I look around for high schools, glad they weren't part of the internet block. Dad thought I'd be too distracted by the internet and so blocked everything except the essentials. There were some schools out in small towns like Smallville. However, Dad hates Smallville. I keep searching the schools when I find one that caught my attention. As I researched it deeper, I found that the school was in a small, seaside town. The town also had a landmark which was named, 'Mount Justice'. It was perfect.

I prepared a fact file on the school and printed it before returning to my father's office, my smile still plastered on my face. I stopped at the door and knocked. I heard only hushed voices, one recognisable as Dad, but the other one was unfamiliar. Commanding and fearful. I then heard footsteps approaching the door. Dad opened the door, but only slightly. Dad tried to block the room, but I could still see behind him. The lights are turned down, almost to provide a sense of privacy. The room smelled of smoke and alcohol and by my dad's desk stood a man who made my smile drop. The man stood tall and bold, a soldier awaiting orders. He wore a blue jacket around him which hides behind an array of awards indicating a high rank - may be a general or sergeant. His most defining feature though is his face. It was stern and had a sense of darkness. It even had the scar of a claw mark which ran across his face. He turned towards us and stared at me. He looked as if he was studying me.

"What is it?", Dad asked, bringing me back to him. "Um, I made a fact file on a school that I think would be the best place to look at.", I answered handing him the document. "Alright. Thank you, Aaron.", he thanked, "Now head back to your room." I obey and head back as fast as I can. When I reach my room and finally close the door, I lay on my bed and release a deep breath I'd been holding in. Whoever that man in Dad's office was, he was terrifying. Something about him just seemed, off.

To take my mind off the creepy image of the General (yes, I gave him a nickname), I went back to preparing for school as a healthy distraction. I started by looking for casual clothing on websites. The male characters in the movies always wore jeans, so they were a must. Next, I looked into t-shirts and jackets. I wanted a Superman-themed one to symbolise the hope of change, but Dad would immediately return it. So I'd have to settle for the second place of Batman. To go with it, I found a waistcoat vest of a red colour online. I ordered everything. They're now out for delivery.

As I sat back, a wave of dread washed over me. I turned towards the door of my room to hear a set of footsteps. They were loud but short like boots, military boots. The General was leaving, thank God. But just as I thought it was safe, the footsteps abruptly stopped. My mind raced with many questions about this. Why did he stop? What is he doing? Where is he? I slowly stood from my desk chair and slowly began to walk towards the door. As I approached the door, I hesitantly placed my ear against the door, hoping to hear at least something. The door doesn't give off anything at first. "Maybe he's gone.", I thought. I began to sigh in relief.

KNOCK.

I yelped in surprise. The General was out there and knocking on my door. The creepy guy from the scary office of my father was now standing outside, pounding on my door. I stepped back from the door as he knocked again. It sounded as if he was about to break the door down if I didn't answer. Right now, it seems like an extremely, likely possibility. As he knocked a third time, I quickly began to search for a weapon. A knife, a gun, anything! I look through my drawers and locate a knife my dad gave me for my 13th birthday (I know, it's messed up). I grab the knife and stand in a defensive position ready to defend myself when he comes in. Unfortunately, I was never taught defensive techniques, not even how to punch. I brace myself for what's to come when I hear a voice.

"I'll see you soon, Aaron."


	2. Announcement: 'incest' review

**Hey everyone,**

 **I was thinking about my super lad story and I came up with a new story where Aaron is Lex Luthor's son and the love between him and Superboy is forbidden like Romeo and Juliet or something. I think it makes a lot more sense and would take a lot less time to complete. I would like your guys' thoughts on this as soon as possible, please.**

 **-Dankuso12**


	3. First day of school: Part 1

September 7th, 2010 7:00 AM

It's the first day of school; I'm both happy and terrified. I'm finally able to interact with people who aren't my father. However, since I've never socialised with other people, I have no idea how to do so. What if I end up getting bullied? It'd affect my grades which would lead to the worst school year ever. Dad would pull me out of school. Next thing I know, I live my life in the prison of my dad's choices. My legs were absolute noodles. To distract myself, I decided to check my outfit one last time before heading to school.

I looked down to the navy-blue jeans which fitted perfectly. They were paired with a grey shirt, imprinted with the Batman symbol. The shirt was covered by the blood-red jacket, completing the outfit. To ensure a good first impression, I pulled out all the stops. I shaved any hint of a beard. I brushed my teeth twice to make them shine. I even groomed my blond-highlighted hair - the defining, physical difference between my dad and me - so that it would look nice, like the guy who runs Wayne Enterprises. I couldn't risk a single thing going wrong today, or this would be my last year as a free man.

"You know, I don't see why you can't just go to a private school", a voice interrupts my thoughts as I turn around to see my dad at the door, "you'd be better off with you high academics." "Oh yeah, put me in a school that's targeted by a maniac every other Thursday.", I retort, "That'd be safe." "Ha, ha", he sarcastically replies. I walk over to him and take his hand into my own, "Dad, I'll be fine, you won't have to worry." He looks down at me with a rare, hopeful expression, "I hope, for your sakes, that you're right."

He turns and begins to walk toward the elevator. He gestures for me to follow, "Come on, you don't want to be late." I eagerly grab my bag and pursue my dad. Today was the first day of school; hopefully, it won't be the last.

* * *

7:30 AM

We approached the school while there were only a few students, so as not to attract attention to the family limo. As we stopped in front of the building, I stared at it through the darkened windows. The school had a strawberry, laughter-filled air with Roses and Daisies surrounding the ground floor, not a single stem out of place. The windows were stainless, allowing large streams of sunlight to fill the halls inside with an ambient glow. There were only a few students by the school at this time; they strolled along with their friends with actual, genuine smiles. The sheer atmosphere of the school made me feel a sense of excitement.

"Did you hear me, Aaron?", Dad asked as I remembered he was there too. My mind drew up a blank as I tried to remember what he said. Dad groans, "I said, to protect yourself, you won't go by Aaron Luthor while in school." "As far as the students are concerned, your name is Aaron Stone.", Dad explains. At least he gave me a cool name. "Now, I only briefed the Principal on your situation", he continued, "So it's only you and him who know you're original name. You'll be meeting him inside where he'll brief you." I would've hugged my dad for all of this, except he said that hugs weren't professional. "Thanks, Dad", I said. "You're welcome", he replied, not even showing a smile or frown. I open the door and begin to step out when he grabs my head. "Remember.", he whispered, "you only get one chance." He released my hand and closed the door without another word. As the limo raced off, I turned to look at the rather large school as I began to search for the Principal.

I looked around and saw that most of the students were wearing themed shirts of Justice League members like me; however, there were a few girls who wore bumblebee cheerleader outfits, with big lego-yellow Hs on the front of their sweaters. Then in the middle of the crowd stood a giant of a man. The man wore a pair of cerulean jeans, paired with a matching Superman t-shirt which clung tightly to his buff, rich-brown muscles. I swore he could've been the actual Superman. A cheerleader clung to his arm with glee, judging from that, she was probably his girlfriend. She had her hair tied to look like the pom poms cheerleaders would usually dance with on the field. She shared a lighter tone with her boyfriend. Although I didn't hear much, their tones sounded confident and knowledgeable. They were the cool kids.

I walked through the school halls; though empty, they felt quite crowded. The first time I ever left LexCorp and I felt like I was about to pass out, just great. As I walked on, I noticed the halls were a polished gold, a spark of light appearing every few seconds. The walls lined with navy-blue lockers, a few of them were even personalised with fun decorations. I looked around to find the door labelled, 'Principal's Office'. I approached it and knocked. The door swung open to reveal a man, he dressed like Dad, except Dad never wore a smile.

"Ah, Aaron", he greeted, "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Principal Washington." He moves aside, "Would you like to come in?" He gestured to a chair which sat in his office. I hesitantly nodded and sat down in the black club chair which stood in front of Washington's desk. He walked around the desk and sat in his beige executive chair, which looked quite comfy compared to my chair. "Now I've been informed by your father about your situation.", he began, showing a momentary change in expression at the mention of my dad. "So, during your time here, you'll be treated like any student we have here.", the principal explained, "This will ensure you have a full and fair experience while you're here." "Thank you", I smiled, "I really appreciate it."

"Now, I assigned a student to help you on your first day.", he continued, "Although he appears to be rather late." Just then, the door slowly opened to reveal a boy; he looked about my age. He wore brown jeans which slagged a little behind him. Above them, he wore a t-shirt with a large M on it, it was covered at the sides by a tawny-brown jacket, it looked a little big for him. He had a lighter shade of hair, which dropped down to his neck at the sides and the back. For some reason, he reminded me of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo.

"Principal Washington, you wanted to see me.", he asked, apparently having a voice that matched the cartoon character. "Yes Marvin, please sit down.", he gestured to the chair on the right. Marvin slouched to his chair before dropping into it. "Now Aaron", Washington addressed me, "Marvin will be your guide on your first day." "Cool", Marvin commented, "Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you too.", I reply. "Now do you have any questions before you start?", the Principal asked me. "Um, no", I answered. "Wonderful!", he beamed, "Then without further ado, welcome to Happy Harbour High School."

* * *

As Marvin and I exited the school, he dropped down his skateboard and placed his helmet on his head. "Try to keep up.", he said. He jumped onto his skateboard and began to speed off. I began to run after him, unaware as to why he would've done that. He started doing flips and tricks as members of the surrounding crowd started cheering him on. He was laughing like a hyperactive kid. He wasn't even paying attention to the boy and girl that were walking into his path.

"MARVIN, LOOK OUT"

 **Hey guys. So I've been trying to write descriptively to emerge the readers into the story but I've been wondering if I should do less of that to move the plot along or do more? Please let me know which one you think would be better. Now, keep an eye out for the next chapter.**


	4. First day of school: Part 2

**AN: Hey guys, in this chapter I included less detail to get the plot moving a little faster. Also apparently, if it wasn't made clear in my announcement chapter. I HAVE GOT A PLAN TO SORT THE INCEST PROBLEM, DON'T WORRY. Regardless, this chapter took a while to write. Plus, it's nice and long for you guys to enjoy.**

* * *

September 7th, 2010 7:58 AM

Marvin looked ahead of him as I shouted, noticing the two in front of him. He yelped as it was too late to change course. However, there was no crash or screams of injury. Instead, Marvin was dangling in the grip of the boy. I ran towards them to check if they were ok.

"Explain this.", the boy growled, pointing at the M on Marvin's shirt. The boy had a look of anger, mixed with little bit of confusion, but he seemed quite threatening. Marvin seemed rightly afraid of him. Even the tawny-haired girl with him seemed shocked. "Hey, let him go.", I told the boy. He shifted his gaze towards me and I gulped as my mouth began to feel dry.

"What's your problem?", a deep voice sounded making us all turn to see the Superman lookalike and his cheerleader girlfriend. "Put my man Marvin down.", he told him. He spoke with a tone that matched a commander. "Hi", I weakly said as I slightly raised my hand. "I don't think he likes my shirt.", Marvin commented. The jet-black haired boy raised an eyebrow as he looked at the crowd; the expression on his face seemed offended, hurt even.

"His shirt is fine.", he hissed, "Everyone's shirt is fine." It seemed as if he was offended by the images of the Justice League. Particularly Superman, judging by the way he looked more at the commander boy's shirt. It was quite odd - seeing as how the Justice League were all-time heroes.

The boy dropped Marvin as he finished, causing Marvin to slightly whimper.

"Someone's fine", the cheerleader smiled. The commander boy's frown grew, he was obviously not happy. He let go of the girl's arm and began to walk over to us.

"Hi, we're new.", the boy's companion spoke out. "My name is Megan Morse.", she introduced herself, "And this is Connor Kent." Connor wore a dark shirt underneath a brown leather jacket, like a biker. Megan, however, wore a more innocent outfit. She wore a light, pink button jacket over a white shirt along with a skirt which matched her jacket. "Pleasure to meet you.", I hesitated, remembering to keep my manners.

"Double alliteration.", Marvin commented, "I like it." Connor began to slowly walk over to the commander boy, with each step sounding loud. They met in the middle, close to each other, ready to do battle. As everyone waited for who would throw the first punch, two clicks snapped, causing everyone to turn to see a man. He wore a dark jacket over a matching shirt. He had hair, similar to Marvin. He even had a bit of messy, beard hair like an art critic in comedy sketches.

"Okay, time to get to homeroom gang.", he said. I looked back to the two boys to watch what they'd do. The commander boy just huffed and walked away, but not before he barged past Connor. Connor looked angrier than before; he looked ready to murder him. However, Megan stepped in front of him, with a stern look disrupting her smile. "Hey, you coming?", Marvin asked me gesturing to the school. I was about to answer yes, so I could find my way about. But I looked back to Connor and Megan; something about the vibe they gave off seemed familiar. Not only were they new at school, but they also seemed a little bit new to social interaction as well. I could relate to that.

"You know what.", I replied, "Why don't you go ahead, I'll catch up later." "Alright", he answered, "See you in class dude." He ran into the school leaving me with Connor and Megan. I slowly walked over to them, taking caution with every step. I finally approached them, when I heard Connor grumble some incoherent words, which I'm sure were inappropriate. "Um, hey. Are you guys ok?", I asked them. Megan looked at me and smiled. "Oh, we're fine.", Megan answered, "It's nothing to worry about." From the look of Connor, I could tell that wasn't the whole truth. "Are you sure?", I pressed on, "I mean, that guy was being an ass." "That's putting it delicately.", Connor sneered. He was clearly mad, it was understandable. That guy acts like a jerk and yet wears the shirt of a hero, that's just rude.

"I'm Aaron Stone.", I introduced myself, "I was with Marvin when he crashed into Connor." "Sorry about that, by the way.", I apologised, "I think he was just trying to have fun." "It's ok", she replied, "There was no harm done. How about you?" "I'm fine", I answered. I looked over to see Connor's expression still hadn't changed. "How about you, Connor?", I asked him, hoping to open a line of communication with him. He just huffed and turned away. "He's fine.", Megan answered for him, "he'll warm up." There are two teens who were new, like me. One was positive and one wasn't talking much. They would make perfect first friends. Now I just gotta make sure to gradually ask them, so I don't come off as weird. But then again, the movies teach you to be yourself and they always worked out. Better go with what works.

"Hey, this might be a little bit forward, but would you guys like to be friends?", I asked them. Megan's smile grew wider. "Yes, please.", she beamed, "We'd love to." First friends in school made. "Woohoo!", I yelped in my mind.

"Hi, I'm Wendy.", a cheerleader introduced herself as she walked up to us. "Hi", I replied. She nodded, "Nice to meet you." "I was new last year as well.", she continued, "So I know how hard it is to fit in." She turned to Megan, "But you look like instant Bumblebee material to me?" Megan _and_ Connor seemed surprised about this. "Cheerleaders.", Wendy explained, "The Bumblebees. Tryouts are after school." Meghan gasped and began to jump with excitement. "Thanks.", she giggled, "I'll be there." Megan and Wendy then began to walk off, probably to discuss the tryouts. Connor then began to follow after them.

"Wait.", I stopped him, putting a hand on his muscular…smooth chest. I wriggle my thoughts as I look up to see him, giving me a disapproving look. "Cheerleading is usually a chat topic reserved for girls.", I explain quickly, "So they probably want to discuss it alone." Connor backed off a little as the situation was explained. Perhaps he was newer to social interaction than I originally thought. Now he and I stood in an uncomfortable silence outside of the school.

"Do you wanna go to class?", I ask him to break the silence. He looked up and turned to head for homeroom without a word. "Um, wait up.", I told him as I began to walk after him to class.

* * *

Homeroom went off without a hitch, the same went for the first few classes. I made sure to not show off my knowledge so it seemed suspicious, so I answered the occasional question. Coincidentally, I seemed to share a similar schedule to Connor and Megan, so we got to hang out a lot during the classes. Then later in the day, in Geography or History (it didn't say in the episode), something peculiar happened.

We were watching the news report about my dad's peace treaty between North and South Rhelasia. He mentioned this a few days before, although he never mentioned how he was going to do it and according to the report. No one else knew as well.

"If Lex Luthor's unknown strategy for peace fails, the two Rhelasias are looking at all-out war before morning.", Cat (according to the name bar) reported. The teacher from the morning, who was named Mr Carr, turned off the tv before turning to us.

"Who can tell me more about Rhelasia?", he asked. He turned towards the left side of the room. "Marvin?", he gestured for Marvin to answer. Marvin looked up in surprise, awakened from a possible dream. "Well, uh, Mr Carr, it's..", Marvin began, "better than fake Asia."

Only a few students chuckled at his attempt at humour, even Mr Carr seemed a little amused by it. "Sigh, anyone else?", Mr Carr asked returning to the topic. I put my hand up to answer the question but someone beat me to it.

"Modern Rhelasia was created in 1855 and ruled by the Boquoon Dynasty until it was divided by the great powers into North and South Rhelasia after WWII." I turned around to see that it was Connor who spoke up, thankfully looking in a better mood than this morning. As he answered, he talked blankly but with confidence, unlike the rest of the students who seemed shocked by his answer. Mr Carr shared their feelings.

"Very good", Mr Carr approved. When it seemed like Mr Carr was about to speak further, Connor spoke again. "But why are they fighting?", he asked, "They're all humans. I mean, Rhelasians. Right?" He voiced the question as if he never heard of war or hate or fighting before. Not only that but he seemed saddened by it. It was clear on his face. He looked so angry this morning, being in a new environment. But when he learns about a war, he was a child. He was confused.

"Right on both counts, actually", Mr Carr answered. He was writing down something on the blackboard, but I didn't pay it any mind. I looked back to Connor to see if he was alright. He seemed fine but he was looking towards Megan and vice versa. They looked like they were having a conversation, but they weren't even talking. Megan even had a serious face on. It did seem odd but it was my first day out of LexCorp, who was I to judge. So I turned back to the board to pay attention and take notes.

* * *

The school day shortly ended afterwards. However, dad's driver probably wouldn't pick me up for another 10 minutes or so. I decided to take a look around to get familiar with a few of the facilities I hadn't visited yet. I walked around the school to the back to explore the sports area outside. The track for runners was laid in a circular shape around the football field which was surrounded by bleachers. As I walked along, I noticed a group in the distance wearing a familiar uniform.

Wendy said that cheerleader tryouts were happening after school, Megan was attending. Maybe I'll bump into her there. Maybe Connor's there too. I ran ahead to the group to find Megan, who changed into a blue skirt and a white shirt with a red M on the torso for tryouts. I think she was doing a dance rehearsal. "Hey, Megan.", I greeted her. She stopped and turned to me. "Hi Aaron", she replied, "What are you doing here?" "My…parents are a little late to pick me up.", I answered, "So I thought I'd come watch if you don't mind." I could swear she was literally beaming. "Thank you, that would mean a lot.", she said. She grabbed me in a hug and squeezed tight. It was actually quite…joyful.

"You can watch from the bleachers.", she continued, "Connor's already up there." I turned to see Connor sitting in the bleachers, his face said he was deep in thought about something. He'd been like that ever since Mr Carr's class. "Thanks, Megan.", I thanked her, "Good luck." She thanked me and I made my way up to the bleachers. The only people up here were me and Connor, I thought it'd better neither of us sits alone, so I sat down next to him.

"Hi, Connor.", I said. His head turned slightly, but that was it. I wanted to inquire about his questions in Mr Carr's class but I wasn't sure how to structure it. "Hey, d'you know those Rhelasians we were talking about in Mr Carr's class?", I asked him. He still didn't move a facial move. Oh who was I kidding, he's probably not going to answer a question.

"Yes.", he answered. He actually answered. This is great. "I was wondering.", I began, "what did you mean exactly by 'why are they fighting'?" His eyes widened just slightly, I must've hit a nerve. "Oh, I'm sorry.", I apologised quickly, "I didn't mean to-" "It's fine.", he interrupted. I quickly calmed down and was now filled with confusion. Connor talking this much is actually, the most he's talked during the day.

"What I meant.", he continued, "Is that why should it matter about which is better, they're all humans. Why should they fight if they're all the same species?" Wow, he seemed ready to fight this morning, but instead, the fighting just made him sad. "Because.", I started, thinking of an answer, "Because they're just trying to protect their homes, their friends, their families. I mean if your home was threatened or in danger, wouldn't you do the same thing." He looked down, he knew the feeling. "Every human has the ability to fight and hate.", I explained further, "Everyone uses it once in a while, but sometimes there's a special few who go…kind of overboard with it. But it's normal."

Connor looked at me, "It's normal?" "Yeah.", I answered, "Nobody's perfect, everyone can be smiles and glam, but they also have the potential to be angry and fearful. So it's up to everyone to make the choice on whether to be good and happy or evil and angry." "So while some people can be good.", I explained further, "Sometimes they choose to be evil to do good. But in the end, it only brings more pain. Which is why we need more good people, like the Justice League, as an example to others to show them the right path." "It's up to us to decide which path to choose.", I finished. Connor stayed quiet, clearly processing this. I may have over-explained. I looked ahead to see that Megan began her cheerleading audition. She looked to be dancing in perfect unison with the song. Impressive.

"But what if they're not like who you think they are?", Connor asked, drawing me back to the conversation, "What if they're not the people you see on the news?" He made a good point, despite them being heroes on the news, they could secretly be evil maniacs. "That doesn't matter.", I answered, "What's important is not who they are, it's what they represent. Justice, bravery and hope. You see, when we learn more about them, we can do more with them. That's what makes people happy, what makes them hopeful for the future." Connor's frown lessened. A good sign.

We'd have continued further when I saw the commander boy's girlfriend and another cheerleader. holding a large metal basin of water heading towards Megan. They were tilting it towards her. "Megan, look out!", I shouted. It was too late, the cheerleaders poured the water onto Megan, drenching her. She gasped. Conner's rage face immediately returned. He grabbed onto the seats tightly. Then he stood up, breaking pieces off the bleachers into his hands. As I saw this, I gasped. "What the hell?", I murmured.

As I was shocked, I noticed Connor was about to slip on the bleachers. "Connor.", I yelped, but I couldn't catch him. He slipped and began to trip down every step of seats until he fell over the edge. "Connor.", I yelped again as he fell to the ground with a thud. I immediately began to run down to check up on him. As I reached the bottom, I saw Connor laying on the ground with the cheerleaders and Megan standing to the side. "Connor, are you ok?", I asked as I kneeled down to help him.

"Sorry.", Wendy apologised, "It's a stupid initiation ritual." "That I wish my teammates would abandon.", she added. Megan turned around. "Wait. Initiation ritual?", she inquired. She gasped, "Hello Megan. That means I made the team." Then she hesitated, "Um, I-I did right?"

"You're a Bumblebee, girl.", commander boy's girlfriend confirmed. Megan jumped and down for joy, repeating thank you to the girls. I went back to check on Connor, but he stopped me. "I'm, fine.", he grunted. He was strong enough to break the seats and he didn't sustain injury from falling, who was this guy?

"So, is that your boyfriend?", the girlfriend asked in our direction. Everyone turned to us. "Cause he's hot but kind of a freak.", she added. "Um.", was all I said, I didn't know how to deal with this type of situation. Even Megan looked surprised by the cheerleader's question. Said cheerleader laughed, "if he isn't, send him my way." She strolled off still giggling.

"We gotta go too, our parents are waiting for us.", Wendy added before leaving with the rest of the cheerleaders. As they walked off, Connor got up from his position on the ground and dusted himself off. "Um, Connor?", I asked for him. He might not be in the mood to talk but it's worth a shot. "Yeah.", Connor replied. "I don't mean to pry, but how were you able to do that thing with the bleachers." His eyes widened for real this time. "It's nothing.", he quickly answered. It was best not to pry into someone's private life, so I decided to leave it for now.

I suddenly felt a buzzing in my pocket. I pulled out my phone which notified me that the driver was here to pick me up. "I've gotta go.", I told Connor, "I'll see you tomorrow." I ran off before he even had the chance to reply, I quickly made my way to the front of the school where I saw the family car waiting for me on the sidewalk. I opened the door and let myself in. "Good afternoon, Mercy.", I greeted the driver.

"Good afternoon", she replied, "how was your day." I think back to the near fight this morning, the talk between me and Connor and how the bleachers broke in Connor's grip.

"It was…eventful."


	5. Meeting Clark Kent

**Hey guys, sorry for the long wait but I found it hard to find a way to describe Clark's reaction to a non-Justice League member. So, that situation got my brain racking. Regardless, I was able to finish the chapter and it's nice and long. Just like you guys like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

September 7th, 2010 6:00 PM

Soon after I got home, I was called down to join Dad for dinner. On Tuesday's, it was usually a steak dinner. I sat down at the mahogany table as Dad already began on the meal. He looked tired, but also quite confident and happy.

"You look cheerful, Dad.", I commented, "Did something good happen at work today?" He swallowed the current piece of steak and looked at me. "Good observation.", he smiled, "Today, I was able to unify North and South Rhelasia. With them under LexCorp's political and economic guidance, it's guaranteed a good future." This was big news, I heard about the way the two Rhelasian countries had been fighting for years.

"Dad, that's great news.", I approved. "It _is_ great news", Dad confirmed, "Thank you." "Now that you mention it.", Dad continued, "How was your first day of public school?" My mind flashed through the events of the day, freshly implanted in my head. "It was quite…wonderful.", I answered, "I even made friends already."

"Good.", he commented, "Tell me about them." I put down my knife and fork before replying. "Well, one's named Megan.", I replied, "She's a very positive girl." "Well, that's nice.", Dad commented, "Anyone else?" "There's a boy whose name is Connor.", I replied. My mind wandered back to the strange events which happened with Connor, especially the bleachers. "He's quite athletic.", I described him. If I told Dad about what happened, he might've made a big deal of the situation. What if he kidnapped Connor? I mean, I want to believe my dad had finally gone good but I also considered it a possibility. "There was also a cheerleader named Wendy and a nice kid called Marvin.", I listed for Dad.

"Sounds like we were both successful today.", Dad says. I smiled and continued on my steak. The rest of mealtime was spent in silence between me and my father. He says he requires a lot of time to think about his strategies and LexCorp. However, during that time, I was able to think more about Connor. He was strong enough to break the bleachers, I don't think even Mal Duncan (I learnt his name from Marvin at lunch) could do that - and he's bigger than Connor. So how could he have done that? Was he a metahuman? Either way, I couldn't put it off. So I decided that when I got back to my room, I'd conduct some research on Connor.

When I finished, I laid down my knife and fork onto my plate and asked Dad, "Dad, may I please be excused from the table?"Dad just nodded, that was usually his answer to my questions. With his permission, I left the table and returned to my room before locking the door. Sometimes, Dad would like to pop in from time to time to 'check on me'. I opened my laptop and immediately began to search for 'Connor Kent'. What I found was…nothing. There wasn't even a single social media profile for him. He was a ghost. "Who are you, Connor Kent?", I thought. When I thought I couldn't find anything, a suggestion showed up on the results. It suggested another person, it wasn't Conner but he looked a lot like him, he's probably Connor's dad. According to the suggestion, it was someone that worked at a local news company.

According to his information, he was one of the best reporters. He was even one of the top reporters, besides a woman named Lois, who wrote stories related to Superman and…my dad. It talked about how his articles assisted in my dad's imprisonment, multiple times. Oh, Dad must really hate him. Regardless, in order to find out about Connor, I'd have to talk to Clark Kent.

* * *

The next day, Connor and Megan seemed to have been a little hesitant to approach me; neither of them said a word to me. However, I was more focused on the conversation with Clark after school. I told my dad I joined a computer science club after school on Wednesdays so he wouldn't suspect a thing. As the last school bell rang, everyone made their way out and began wandering home. As I exited, I looked to my left and saw Connor walking with Megan in the direction of the outskirts of town, where the town's mountain was located.

But Connor stopped, he turned around and looked at me. His face was different from everything he showed yesterday. His face was apologising to me, but for what? As I tried to discover his reason, he was tapped on the shoulder by Megan who talked to him before resuming their walk. I didn't mean to make him feel bad, I just wish I knew what he was thinking about.

I made my way to a bus stop which I paid for with some pocket money I picked out. It was clean and quite shiny, it's atmosphere matched the school. The ride lasted quite long as I was dropped off in Metropolis. I began to use the GPS on my phone to make my way to the Daily Planet. On the way there, I noticed how the streets were loud, filled with the chatter of business and leisure. The streets themselves were golden in the sunlight and clean as a whistle. It was a modern Utopia.

I finally came across a tall building which stuck out of the city, outgrowing the rest. It had a large rotating globe on it with the words 'DAILY PLANET' surrounding it. I'd come to the right place. I made my way inside and walked up to the receptionist. "Excuse me.", I said.

"Yes.", she acknowledged. "I'm looking for a man who works here.", I pulled out a picture I printed from the internet, "Clark Kent?" "Oh, yeah.", she recognised the man, "He works on the top floor, you just take the elevator." I thanked her and began to walk towards the elevator. "Hang on.", she stopped me, "Why are you looking for Clark?" "Oh. I'm here to ask him about his son.", I said, hoping the connection was right. The receptionist's eyes widened. "O-ok.", she stuttered, "You can go on."

I immediately did as she said, hoping to avoid this conversation gone strange. Before I headed into the elevator, I looked back to see the receptionist on the phone speaking quite fast. I didn't think it was important, so I headed into the elevator. As the elevator headed upwards, I began to ready myself for the upcoming conversation with Clark. I had my questions ready for Clark and I made sure I had a picture of Connor from the school's CCTV (I was only borrowing it). With everything set, I braced myself as the doors opened.

As I stepped out, I walked through the cubicles which spread across the floor looking for Clark. It was impossible, I'd have to ask. I stumbled across a cubicle which held a familiar name with Clark's. Lois Lane. I looked in the cubicle to find an ebony-haired woman sitting down, wearing a suit which had a skirt which was quite short. I knocked on the cubicle gaining the woman's attention.

"Oh, hello.", she greeted. "Hi.", I waved, "I was wondering if you could help me find a friend of yours." She stood up and walked up to me, "Sure, who do you need to find?" I pulled out the picture of Clark again and presented it to her. "Smallville, huh?", she asked, "What'd you need him for?" "I was hoping to talk to him about his son for a bit.", I told her, "He's one of my classmates." Like the receptionist, Lois' eyes widened at this. "U-um, he's a few cubicles down.", she pointed to my right. Lois completely lost her confident stance. I thanked her and walked to the cubicle she pointed to while she stumbled back into her cubicle.

I walked along until I found the cubicle which was labelled 'Clark Kent'. I knocked on it as I looked into it to find the man in question sitting by his desk, however, he was talking to a man who was dressed in a black suit. "Wait, is that Bruce Wayne?", I thought. Whenever Dad met with Bruce, I always got to sit around with his ward, Dick Grayson. Although he never really seemed in a talking mood. Why would Bruce be at the Daily Planet…he's probably discussing a story with Clark but still, the two turned towards me.

"Aaron.", Bruce said, "What a surprise? What are you doing here?" I stepped into the cubicle. "Um, hi Bruce", I replied, "I actually came to talk to Mr Kent." The two seemed slightly confused. "Would you mind, Bruce?", I asked, hoping to get some privacy with Clark. "Of course", he agreed. A good thing about Bruce is that he can always be reasonable and he respects people's privacy. "In that case, I'm gonna go get a drink", he continued, "Would you guys like one?"

"Water please.", I asked. "I'll have the same if you don't mind Mr Wayne.", Clark finally spoke up.

He nodded, "Alright, I'll be right back." He walked off leaving me alone to conduct my interview with the reporter. How ironic for Clark. "Please ask your questions.", Clark gestured for me to begin.

"Well", I began, "Do you happen to know a boy by the name of Connor Kent?" Clark blinked. "Um, no, I don't. Why?", he replied. "It's just that I thought he was your son.", I explained. Clark blinked again and this time, he began to laugh. "I'm sorry.", he breathed, regaining his composure, "But I don't have a son, I haven't even made future plans for a family anyway." "Oh.", I thought, "I said the wrong thing to too many people." "Um, w-well it's just that.", I stuttered, "He looks a lot like you and you share a surname so I assumed so. Look." I pulled out the photo of Connor and I presented it to him.

"I was just sure he was your son, I mean have you seen him?", I said. I looked up and saw Clark's shocked expression. He knew Connor, for definite, but something tells me it wasn't on good terms. "Um, Mr Kent.", I said. He didn't give an answer. Instead, he just slowly stood up and began to stumble out of his cubicle like a zombie in trance.

"Clark", I said again. He just kept going. "I'm sorry", he said, regaining his stance, "I've gotta go."

He began to pick up speed, and I chased after him. "Clark!", I called. He just got faster, his run more stern and stronger. "Leave me alone!", he shouted. He reached the elevators where one just had to open at that moment. He entered it and as I was about to follow him through, a hand swatted in front of me, causing me to stop.

"Just leave him be", Bruce said, "he'll be fine." I looked back to see that the elevator had closed. It was too late anyway. "I-i just don't know what happened.", I replied. I turned to fully face Bruce. "I mean, I asked him about my friend and all of a sudden he get mad as a gorilla." Bruce's eyebrow raised slightly. "That's unlike Clark.", he commented, "What did you say?"

"I didn't mean to offend him.", I answered. I pulled out the picture I showed Clark and handed it to Bruce, "I just wanted to see what he knew about a friend of mine. Connor Kent." He looked down at the photo and he too looked shocked.

"Aaron, where'd you get this?", Bruce inquired. "It's a picture of Connor from school.", I answered, "Why?" He stared down at it for a few more seconds before standing upright. "Why are you asking about him?", he asked. "Well, um.", I stuttered. Crap, I never thought of an excuse for asking about Connor. "It's just that Connor seemed a little quiet at school.", I explained, "I just wanted to see if there's something I could do to help with that."

He smiled at that answer and ruffled my hair. "You're a good kid Aaron", Bruce commented, "But I'm afraid neither of us knows him." From the behaviour of the billionaire and the reporter, it was clear they knew him. But one was in an elevator and the other was as stubborn as Dad.

OH, MY GOD! "What time is it?", I thought. I looked down at my watch. Mercy was gonna be at school in 10 mins. Dad's going to be pissed. "Well, thanks for your time anyway Bruce", I quickly thanked him, "But I'm afraid I'm late for a meeting." I ran towards the elevator adjacent to the one Clark took down and jammed the button to take me down to the lobby…

* * *

I literally sped all the way back to the school on the bus where I found the family car standing, waiting for me. Hopefully, Mercy wouldn't have noticed. I checked the watch to notice that I was only 2 minutes late. Thank God.

I got in the car and luckily, Mercy hadn't mentioned anything about my lateness. When we returned home, I greeted Dad and we had dinner. We enjoyed it in silence, it was perfect after today's events. After dinner, I went up to my room and locked the door before going back to my laptop.

"That was a close one.", I said to myself, flopping down on my bed. I began to breathe as I contemplated over the day's events. Whoever Connor was, it seemed to freak out Clark and Bruce, the guy who showed no motion except happens and business. They know something for sure, but how can I get that information.

I couldn't ask them, that idea tanked. I could try hacking their accounts for any information, but I didn't want to break the trust between me and Bruce. He's a good friend. Also, he wouldn't like if I hacked another person's computer. I sighed. I didn't know what to do, it's like an ultimatum I always have when Dick suggests sneaking out of the meetings to do stuff.

DICK! That's it. Bruce knows Connor, maybe Dick knows about him as well. I rapidly got my email up and began to type up an email to Dick.

* * *

Hey Richard,

I was hoping if you could tell me about a classmate of mine from school. Bruce acted weird when I asked him about my classmate. I think he knows something, however, he won't tell me what he knows. I was hoping maybe you could shed some light on my friend. His name is Connor Kent. I'd appreciate any info you might have.

-Aaron Luthor

* * *

I sent the email instantly and quickly changed the email to homework in case Dad comes by. Until I get an answer from Dick, I'll have to see what I can figure out on my own. I turned off the lights and announced I was heading to sleep. I walked to my bed and slowly laid my silk duvet over me as I prepared to drift off to sleep.

However, despite my attempts, my mind drew back to the classmate I had been so obsessed with. I mean, he was strong enough to break those bleachers. But, despite that, Connor intrigued me in…other ways. From the way he acted, he seemed strong yet conflicted. He had strength and, good looks, but apart from those weird thoughts. He seemed restricted, he seemed to find it hard to share with everyone, the only exception was our talk in the bleachers. Then, he seemed sad and confused. He was kinda like me in some ways.

Afterwards, he showed that impossible strength. It was astonishing. He was strong, beau-pretty athletic and mysterious but he also seemed upset about something. Something that was definitely hurting him. Connor Kent is a mystery and I intend to find the answer that lies beneath it. So I can help him through whatever he's going through and help him end it.

With that thought, I finally close my eyes and sleep.


	6. Weird dreams and familiar faces

_As I slept, I found myself standing in a field, with a house on the horizon. The sun rising in the distance covering the landscape with its bright rays. I find myself beginning to walk towards the house, taking my time to feel through the stretching hands of wheat which spread for miles. Soothing to my palm as I walked closer to the house. It looked like a suburban house from the countryside, it stood close to a barn that was topped with a metal hen which turned slowly with the wind._

 _As I approach the farmhouse, I feel a scent of apples hit me. Although it felt cooked, which was quite odd. I stepped up the wooden stairs which creaked underneath my feet as I made my way to the door on the veranda. The veranda held a swing which resembled a sofa. Perfect to just sit and watch the fields bend to the will of the wind and forget the worries of the world._

 _I reach my hand out to the doorknob when it creaked open, revealing a clean, simply decorated hallway. I step inside as the apples I smelled before guided me to the first, left room. The kitchen. There, I see a man standing by the counter looking down to what I assume is the source of the delicious smell._

 _The man had jet black hair, short but a little messy. He was clearly buff but had a sense of sweetness to him. He wore what seemed like a plain black shirt from the current view of him._

 _He wore dark blue jeans which were cut off with black boots by his ankles. He was working his muscular arms as if he was cooking something._

 _He lifts his head, noticing my presence and turns to reveal himself. He had sky blue eyes, immediately the most distinguishable and recognisable feature of his face. I saw a familiar coat of arms laid across his shirt, the coat of arms dubbed by my father's files as the house of El. A symbol of hope. But that wasn't the biggest surprise from the man before me. I look upwards and when I see his face, his beautiful sky-blue eyes which looked at me with glee. I recognised him almost instantly. It's Connor and he's smiling._

 _"Hey.", he greets. I feel myself smiling as I walk closer towards him, "Hey. How's cooking going?" It seems that I have no control over my actions or words as I continue towards him. "It's going well.", he replies turning back to the counter to retrieve an apple pie which smelled like a gift from heaven._

 _"You've improved, that's for sure. Meghan would be proud.", I comment, causing us both to laugh a little. "Thanks.", he puts down the pie. "You know, you've been working a lot lately.", I say, "Come on, take a break." I reach out my hand and he takes it. "Alright.", he agrees. I start leading him out of the kitchen and back outside to the veranda where I guided him down to the swing where we sat down. "Isn't this better?", I gesture to the landscape blazing in the sun's glow. "It's amazing.", he comments. He then wraps his arm around me, guiding me towards his buff body. His hold was a blanket, it was soft yet warm. It made me forget all previous thoughts and just…enjoy the moment._

 _"How were we able to come this?", I ask. He looks down to me, "Through unexpected ways." I'm satisfied with the answer and just lie there in his soft grip. I yawn and begin to feel my eyes grow heavy. I couldn't be happier._

 _"I love you, Aaron Luthor.", he whispers. I find myself looking up to him and replying, "And I love you, Connor Kent. My Superboy." I lean up and softly place my lips on his. It was unexpected but it felt amazing. It flooded me with a tide of warmth as the taste of his lips left me hungry for more. It was the best thing I had ever experienced before. I feel my eyes growing heavy, so with my lips still against his, I close my eyes to let them rest._

As I opened them again, I found myself back in the gritty reality of my room. I immediately began to groan and contemplate my dream. What the hell was that? How could I kiss Connor? I mean, I don't even like him that way and he's a boy. The movies always showed that the relationships were a boy and a girl, never two men. But it felt so beautiful, but also peculiar and just weird. But Dad always said two people of the same gender in a relationship, but why did it feel so right? I tried to push the thoughts out of my head and instead on my day.

So as I raised myself from my bed, things got weirder as I found a card standing on my desk. I swore it wasn't there before. I stood up from the bed and walked over to the desk to get a closer look at it. It was just a plain white card, saved for a picture of a robin bird on the front.

I cautiously picked up the card and open it to reveal a message.

Aaron,

Stop looking into Connor Kent.

What? Who sent this? Does someone know about Connor? Wow, 1 minute awake and already, I'm filled with questions which don't help my aching head. I sat down to collect my thoughts. Unfortunately, I wasn't given any time to do so as breakfast was announced. I'd have to save it for another time.

As usual, I was alone at breakfast as Dad has most of his business meetings in the mornings. Luckily though, it gave me time to recap the events so far. I saw Connor show that amazing strength and it was astounding. When I asked him about it, he said it was nothing and I respected his privacy. But it seemed so amazing, I just wanted to know more about it. I ended up going to Metropolis to ask a reporter and my dad's business associate about him, both getting freaked reactions. And now, I received a strange card telling me to stay away.

Now that I think about it, what if Connor didn't want me to know more about his strength to keep me safe. Like the government tv shows. "Oh god.", I thought, "What have I done?" I didn't respect Connor's wishes and it's ended up terrible. He'd absolutely hate me for this. What if he knew, maybe that's why he didn't talk to me the other day. I am such an idiot.

I groaned as I let my head fall down to the table. I messed up and Connor isn't talking to me. He probably thinks of me as an asshole. He'd probably not want to talk to me again or want to even come near me. Oh God, what have I done?

Uhh, I've gotta say sorry. Hopefully, he'll forgive me and we can get back to just doing normal stuff for once. As I decided, I focused my mind on my breakfast, which would probably be the most peaceful time of my day.

As I walked through the hallway, I hadn't seen a sign of Conner or Meghan anywhere, when I asked Marvin he said he hadn't seen them as well. I decided to see if Mr Carr knew anything since he was part of the staff.

I went down to the staffroom and asked to see if I could find Mr Carr. I was lucky as he was there. He stepped out of the room and shut the door. "Good morning, Aaron.", he chirped. I returned the greeting and replied, "I was hoping if you'd seen Connor or Meghan anywhere." "Unfortunately Aaron, Connor and Meghan are off sick for a few days with the flu, it was called in by their guardian.", he explained.

"Oh.", I replied, "Well, then would I be able to call their guardian. To check on them." "Oh sure", he answered, "Come with me." He leads me to an office room where he began to search the computer for the phone number. When he found it, he immediately dialled the number and handed the phone to me.

"Thanks", I mouth to Mr Carr as I hear the phone buzz. It buzzed about 6 times before being answered by a voice I didn't expect to hear. "Hello, how may I assist you?", a sophisticated-like voice answered from the other side of the call. "Hi, I'm a friend of Connor and Megan's from school.", I replied, "Who am I talking to?"

"Alfred Pennyworth", the voice named itself, "Might I inquire your name as well?" "Um, Aaron. Aaron Stone.", I returned. "I was just hoping to check on my friends, see if they were ok.", I continued.

"Ah of course", he replied, as if he was expecting that. "Well, they're currently in bed, sleeping off the sickness.", he explained, "I'll inform them that you called." I thanked him before hanging up the phone and placing it back down on the desk.

"How did it go?", Mr Carr asked me. "It went well.", I answered, "They'll get my message." "Alright.", he nodded, "Well it's getting close to the end of lunch. You better go get your things." I agreed with him and hurriedly walked out of the room to get my equipment for next period, but my mind not leaving the thought of my friends.

The next week passed by as normal, but still no word about Connor or Megan, it was almost worrying. The flu usually lasts for a day, maybe two. But they've been off for the whole week and no one's heard anything from them.

Then it was Friday. I was eating breakfast while watching the news in the kitchen (I like to stay up to date from time to time). As I grew close to finishing, the news seemed to grow louder by itself as my ears picked up on the story.

It reported a recent, attempted mass prison break from Belle Reve, the super-villain prison. Unfortunately, I had the courtesy of knowing the name. It's where Dad would go when he was arrested, so the name became a grim reminder for me.

According to the report, only one inmate escaped-the Riddler. Apparently, he was a guy that never resisted a good puzzle (Betcha he had the professor Layton theme as a ringtone). Anyway, it goes on to say that it was caused by some ice villains who had ice tech that was smuggled into the prison.

Luckily, they failed, thank God. It later went on to say that after the prison break, the warden was replaced with a psychiatrist by the name of Hugo Strange. I heard about the guy, I thought he was as crazy as the rest of the Batman's villains. Hopefully, what I heard were just rumours.

I sighed. It seems that with every day, the news just gets more villainous (pun intended). Not wanting to hear anymore, I looked down at my phone to check if I had anything on tonight. Luckily, I had no events planned, as per usual.

Don't get me wrong, public schools been great, but I've not been quite the social bug. I mean, the closet I got to a conversation was when I checked with the other students which day of the week our homework was due in. To be honest, school was fun at first but it seemed to get kind of weird after the first few days. I mean, during those days, I met the mysterious duo of Connor and Megan. One was strong and one was happy. Like a duo from a sitcom.

As I finished my breakfast, my ear radar pinged again to the news story when it began mentioning a couple of heroes involved in the prison break.

"The prison break was successfully halted thanks to the assistance of two Justice League sidekicks who went undercover to investigate the ice villains.", the news anchor, labelled Cat Grant, explained. "The sidekicks in question, Miss Martian and Superboy went undercover as the Terror Twins to investigate the possibility of a prison outbreak a few days earlier but were unfortunately unable to prevent it. However, they quickly made up for it as they assisted prison guards in containing the prisoners.", Cat further explained.

I paused as I heard the names. Miss Martian was unknown to me but Superboy, that sounded familiar. But I couldn't remember how. To add to the calamity, the news report then displayed pictures of the heroes in question.

Miss Martian, was green-skinned, like Martian Manhunter. It was clear they were of the same species. The fact they were both on Earth, however, couldn't be a coincidence. They might be family. She had tawny-hair which flowed down to her neck followed by a dark shirt which had a red x laid on it.

I looked at the other picture to see Superboy, he had short, jet-black hair with a matching shirt that was covered in the coat of arms normally seen on Superman's suit. But the most distinguishable feature of him was his sky-blue eyes.

When I looked at the two of them, they looked awfully familiar. Even though they were strangers, it felt like I knew them in some way. It was too confusing for breakfast, that's for sure.

I took the remote in my hand and shut off the tv so I could head to my room and prepare for school. However, as I walked along the hallway, I heard a whispered voice emanating from the living room. I turned around to see the door opened a little bit to reveal what it could of what was happening inside.

Being the curious person I was, I began to carefully step towards it to see who was in the living room. I crept along the floor, thanking God it was carpet, not creaky floorboards. I reached the door and slowly looked through it to find Dad on my phone. He was always on his phone, usually, it was company calls talking about this and that, but this was different.

Whenever he was on a business call, he always spoke aloud and with a stern face. However, when I looked at him. He instead had a smirk smeared across his face. Unfortunately, my ears weren't superhuman so I could only catch a few words of his conversation. What was weird when I thought about it was that he kept repeating a term during his conversation.

The light.

That's what he kept whispering during his conversation. It didn't make sense at all, maybe he'd finally lost it. Would not be the first time. Dad seemed to quickly put a quick end to his conversation, he was always like that when he was being secretive about something. He then walked over to the cabinet where he then poured himself a glass of a wine he always drank to celebrate victories, both big and small. What was Dad getting so excited about in the morning, it must've been good.

Seeing no more to observe, I turned back down the hallway back to my room to continue my preparations for school. Hopefully school would be good today to cancel out this weird morning.


	7. A friend's return

I entered school, got my things ready and began making my way to class. It was a normal day by anyone's standards. I walked through the corridors past the other students, all talking and playing games. The day looked like it was gonna be another normal one.

"Yaaaaaay", I groan in my head.

I hear the school bell as I approached homeroom where I took my seat. Everyone else was slouched in their seats, waiting for the classes to start so that the day can end sooner. I looked around to inspect the classroom.

Marvin, check. Mal and Karen, check. Wendy, check. During the last few days, I had learned everyone's' names through the register and so to pass the time, I'd check to see if everyone was here. Even though Mr Carr was just gonna repeat the process. My head turned to the table at the back.

Connor and Megan…absent.

I sigh. They've been gone a long time, it was almost worrying. All that time, I was hoping they'd come back the next day. I can't just lose 2 friends I'd made on my first day, literally in the outside world.

"Don't worry", Marvin nudged me, "I'm sure they'll be back soon." Marvin and I were sat together in homeroom so we got a lot more chances to talk than with others. We'd talk about latest trends and our classmates, which would come in handy. Other than that, we talked about Connor and Megan. He knew I was worried about them so he tried to cheer me up saying they'd be back soon. I appreciated it, but the more days he tries to cheer me up increases with the number of days they're gone.

We turned to the front of the room when we heard a sudden cough from Mr Carr who started the register. By the time he reached the end, I swore I would've fallen asleep right there and then. But what I didn't expect was a big surprise.

"Sorry, we're late, Mr Carr.", a cheery voice called from the door. One that was instantly recognisable. My head shot up to see Connor and Megan walking into the classroom.

"Told you.", Marvin commented.

"Ah, Megan, Connor. It's nice to see you better.", Mr Carr replied to Megan, "Just take a seat and we'll get started."

They nodded and began to walk to the back. Megan walked with a bit of a pep in her step while Connor just walked with a thud in each step. As they walked by my desk, Megan just walked on. However, Connor seemed to slow down a little as he passed a glance to me before continuing on to sit down.

As Mr Carr began the lesson, he started talking about current politics but I couldn't find a bit of interest in it. Instead, I looked at the back of the classroom where Connor and Megan were sat. They both looked well, however, when looking more closely, Megan seemed to be a little less happy, wouldn't blame her. School gets boring after a while. However, they haven't even been at school that long yet with their sick leave.

I thought that it was to due to her sickness and left it at that, so I turned towards Connor. He looked the same as always, brooding and…well, that's it.

However, as I looked more closely at him, I noticed something strange. Hiding in his hair was what seemed like a few hints of blonde. Did he dye his hair? I didn't know he did stuff like that.

Regardless, he looked the same, yet there was something about him that seemed kinda different.

I investigated him, checking to see if anything was visually wrong. His clothes seemed fine, he didn't seem hurt, if anything he looked a little better than usual. However, when I looked towards his head, something pinged a little. I looked closer, again everything seemed fine but when I looked at his black locks. I thought I could see possible hints of blonde hidden behind them.

I didn't know he dyed his hair, he never struck me as that kind of guy. But TV always teaches people not to judge a book by its cover. Hey, if only that were the case for me. Life would be so much easier. Regardless though, it looked kinda nice on the guy. He rocked it quite nicely. Although, it's weird how

I jumped from my thoughts as the school bell rang signalling the end of the period and the beginning of recess. Everyone quickly filed out of class while I decided to walk and save the energy. As I exited the classroom and began to make my way to my locker, I couldn't help but look back to see Connor and Meghan walking the other way towards their lockers.

What am I doing? My best friends are back after being sick for literally a week and I've done nothing and haven't said a word. "Come on Aaron, you're better than that.", I thought. So I turned and began to slowly walk to them.

"What should I say to them? 'Hey, how was your guys' sick week?'", I thought, "No, I should just say hello. Just say hello." I repeated that as I walked towards them. As I was about to approach them and tap Connor on the shoulder…

"Oh. Hey, Aaron", Megan beamed when she suddenly jumped around causing me to jump in turn.

"H-h-hi guys, good to see you.", I panicked. How'd she know I was behind them, she never looked behind her. "How've you been?", I asked, hoping to smooth things over. "We've been great. How are you?", she replies. Not awkward, this is very good.

"I'm great.", I commented, "But mostly I missed you guys. I mean the flu must've gotten you guys hard." "It was nothing.", Connor said, "Just a stupid bug." "Well, at least you guys are better.", I replied to him, "At least that's good." He grunted in approval where I took the chance to quickly check his hair for those blonde hairs I saw. I checked left and right and I saw them again.

"Hey, cool blonde highlights Connor.", I pointed to the hairs in question. That'll be a good conversation starter. But instead, I watched as their eyes widen slightly in surprise. Both of them. "D-did I say something wrong?", I asked, trying not to be rude. They were both looking at each other as they tried to find words to convey a response.

"It's just that…Connor got those when he was a child.", she slowly said, "He thought they looked cool and wanted to get some. Right, Connor?" When we looked at Connor, he looked confused as if he was trying to remember something. Then he slowly nodded as he agreed with Megan.

"Cool", I commented, "Well, I like it, it suits you." Connor looked down a little before giving a whisper like thanks. "Hey. Do you guys want to hang out later on?", I asked trying a bold move, "You know, to celebrate you guys coming back." Megan's smile is instantly back. "Yeah, we can sit together at lunch and catch up. That'd be awesome."

I smiled. "What do you think Connor?", she asked. His expression didn't change, instead, he just growled and said, "Ok." That was the closest I was ever gonna get out of the guy to a delightful yes.

"Alright.", I cheered, "I'll see you guys at lunch then, I've got to get ready for next period." "Yeah, we'll see you later.", Megan replied. She turned around and began walking away. Connor looked up and said bye before doing the same.

As I watched them walk away, I let out a slow breath. I was able to get through a conversation; that's gotta be a good sign. Maybe today won't be so boring after all. I turned myself to walk to my locker, filled with excitement for lunch.

* * *

What I didn't know at the time, however, was that lunch would be one of the most important things that ever happened in my life...


	8. Lunchtime of destiny

5 minutes to lunch and I'm stuck in geography. The teacher was going on about something to do with cliffs, but it was pretty much stuff I already learned so it wasn't really important to listen. I just couldn't help but think about Connor and Megan. They appeared after a week off due to the flu and Connor ended up with blonde highlights which seemed a little off. More than usual.

But they weren't the only weird things that happened this week. There was Dad's business partner, the general. Then I met Connor and Megan on the first day of public school where I saw Connor breaking the bleachers. Personal note: ask Connor about unusual strength.

Dad's always been on the phone and having confidential meetings. Off the record type meetings that would arouse suspicion. The only thing that I've heard more than anything from Dad during the week was just 2 words.

'the light.', he said.

What does that mean though? Is it a new invention he's working on, a new chemical. Regardless, it's kinda spooky so I've been staying in my room. The safe zone as I have dubbed it. There, I get none of Dad and plenty of me time. But now, I've got a school to get away from him even further.

Result!

The bell rang signalling lunch and everyone rushed out as soon as the teacher began her dismissal of the class. I quickly followed behind and made sure to get my lunch before heading to the cafeteria where I'd meet Connor and Megan. I quickly deposited my school equipment in the locker before literally speeding off to the cafeteria to meet with my friends (only friends, if you exclude Martin).

The other pupils around me kept chatting excitedly about the latest JL business in the world like they usually would. Always about them battling robots or aliens or snakes. I mean, they'd probably make a huge conversation out of something if one of them even sneezed.

As I approached the worn doors leading into the cafeteria, I looked through the windows to look for Connor and/or Megan, but I couldn't see them. 'They mustn't be here yet.', I reasoned as I pushed open the doors and entered the cafeteria with lunch in hand.

I looked around a second time just to make sure I didn't miss the two, but unfortunately, they still weren't here. So I decided that I'd just sit at an empty table and call them over when they get here. Looking around, I saw that most of the tables were filled. The most notable of which, was Mal's table. Makes sense, the cool guy surrounds himself with fans. Either he's egotistical or that guy really enjoys the company. However, from my experience, it's usually the former.

I ignored the hulking mass of football player to continue my search for an empty table where, lady luck strikes, as I find a table that was completely empty. It was a little out of the way in the corner but it'll do.

I raced over, hoping to secure the table before anyone else could, so I could just talk to Connor and Megan alone. I quickly slammed down my lunch on the table and sat down. I was able to get the table. Unfortunately, I didn't have any signs that said, "Reserved" on it so I'd just have to deal with that bridge when it comes to.

I looked towards the door to look out for my friends when they walk in through the door, carrying their lunches in hand as well.

"Connor. Megan!", I called them, "Over here."

They looked towards me and started walking over when they saw me. Megan sat opposite me while Connor sat next to me. We said hi and opened up our lunches.

"Sorry, we're late.", Megan said, "Since we've been gone a while, the teachers had to give us some catch-up work." I waved her off. "It's fine.", I replied, "The only thing that matters right now is that you guys are back." Megan smiled at the answer. "So how was your time off, were you able to play games or did you guys stay in bed the whole week?", I asked, progressing the conversation.

"Um, we stayed in bed mostly.", Megan answered, "We got sick really bad." "It must have been tough.", I commented, "But at least it still beat school."

"I didn't enjoy it.", Connor chimed in suddenly. Megan looked at him uneasily, looking like she did something wrong which was plain to see, despite her efforts to hide it. "Well, nobody enjoys being sick Connor.", I replied, "But it can still have some plus sides, you don't have to sit through lessons and hear people rambling about civil wars or rules."

"Regardless, school kinda sucked while you guys were away.", I continued, "I tried to get in contact with you guys. Did you guys get my 'get well' message?" They both looked at me, a little confused.

"We didn't get any message.", Connor answered. "That's weird", I said, "Your guardian said he was gonna pass my message to you guys." They both glanced at each other and back to me. "Well, maybe he just forgot to.", Megan reasoned, "She had to do a lot of work to take care of us while we were sick."

"Yeah. Maybe.", I said. However, my mind wasn't totally agreeing, because I'm pretty sure their guardian was a man.

Suddenly, a small beeping noise echoed from Megan, she took out her phone and said, "Oh. Um…I think I might have left my pudding, I can't seem to find it. I'll be right back."

Megan left quickly as she went, however instead of heading to the pudding counter, she turned and ran through the canteen doors. I turned to Connor and saw that he was still eating without bothering to look up.

It was just me and him. The socially awkward kid with a silent, buff type. Not a combination you'd normally see unless you live in a strange world. Oh wait, we do.

"So"

That's it, all I said was so. When I read up on small talk, it involved knowing a person's likes and dislikes. Neither of which, I know.

"So what", he replied, looking like he gave no fucks whatsoever. "Well, umm…", I said.

"SAY SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT!", I mentally shouted.

I looked around for something to say when I looked at Connor's hair to see those blond strands of hair again, say something about that.

"So how'd you get blonde highlights at such a young age?", I asked. It was better than nothing, even if the question sounded a bit personal. Connor took a second to reply.

"I just got them.", he answered.

Well, that was short. "Are you alright?", I asked, "You seem a little bit down." To be honest, the guy had a blank face so it was hard to tell.

"I'm fine", he said, "Just a rough week." "Aw, don't worry, I know the feeling.", I sympathised, "One week, my Dad told my tutors to give me extra work on finance. He says it's better for business."

Connor hummed in acknowledgement, "Sorry to hear about it." "Oh, don't worry about it.", I waved it off, "Just be glad you're rough week came from sickness and not a Dad who wants nothing but the best grades for you."

I emphasised on the sarcasm on the last bit, hopefully not too much. Connor looked down a little further as he agreed. Oh God, I am terrible at being social.

As I started to groan over how terrible I am at small talk, my ears heard a small whirring noise. From the sign of his head lifting up, I guessed Connor heard it too.

"Do you hear that?", I asked him. "Yeah", he agreed. The whirring increased in volume and frequency slowly but gradually got faster. "What the hell is that?", I ask aloud.

Connor looks around trying to determine the source of the noise as it continued to grow faster. As the whirring reached a high speed, Connor froze with widened eyes.

"GET DOWN!", he shouted as he dived to the ground, pulling me with him. Then like a horror movie jumpscare, the white wall of the cafeteria burst into flames with smoke and screams ensuing as students panicked and ran. I hung on to Connor as we stayed in a crouched position to avoid possible shrapnel.

As the sounds shrunk down to the panicked sounds of fellow students, Connor and I opened our eyes to look towards the shattered concrete to see what looked like to be a group of soldiers with what looked like…the terror twins.

"Oh my, brother Tommy. It appears we've interrupted supper.", the girl said as she strode forward with her slightly taller brother and the soldiers in tow. On the tv, Tommy Terror looked like a damned juggernaut, but when I saw him he looked like a normal guy.

I felt a pulling on my hand as I turned to see Connor gesturing to the exit. I nodded in agreement and began to crouch with him as we started towards the corridor.

"Secure the exits, we can't let them leave if they're here.", Tommy spoke into his communicator. Connor and I remained crouched behind the tables to stay hidden as the soldiers began to round up the students.

They tried to run, only to return with soldiers pointing guns at their heads. "We'll have to find a side exit.", Connor whispered. I looked around but I couldn't see one. Instead, I saw Marvin and a few other students including Mal and Wendy huddled behind the tables next to us.

"Hey, you guys ok?", I whispered to Marvin. He looked at me and smiled. "We're fine.", he replied, "Glad to see you are too." Hang on, Marvin may know of side exits. "Hey, Marvin.", I whispered, "Are there any other exits out apart from the main cafeteria doors?"

"Yeah, there should be.", he answered pointing in my direction, "it may be somewhere over there."

I turned my head and looked to see that Marvin was right, there was a side exit and luckily enough, the twins and soldiers were going the other way.

I tugged on Connor's shirt and pointed to the door. He crawled to the door and I gestured to Marvin and the others to follow as I was about to go with Connor. Unfortunately, the girl twin (Tuppence I think her name is) looked around the far table and saw us.

"Found you.", she said and called for the soldiers.

"Run", I said and sprinted to the door.

The others quickly followed, but I could hear shots and a few of the students fell behind me as I focused on the door. As I got to it, I widened it to allow for the others to pass through as I looked back to see the group of soldiers getting closer.

"Hurry!", I urged them as they ran out one by one. I looked behind the students to see that everyone who fell was just stunned with some sort of drug. Thank God. But then my mind wondered, why do they need the students alive?

I checked a final time for anyone coming our way but I was interrupted as the soldiers shot more syringes landing on the wall, getting closer to the door. I quickly shut it and started running away as far and fast as I could.

As I crossed the street and reached the corner of a building, I hid and looked back to see the soldiers looking around the door but never leaving the vicinity of the school. It wasn't long before they headed back inside. I released a breath I didn't realise I was holding in and sat down with my back facing the brick wall of the shop building.

I scanned around to see the others hiding as well, but when I looked around, I couldn't find Connor. My mind suddenly went into panic mode. Did they get him? Is he in danger? Holy crap, is he dead?

My panicked line of internal questioning was quickly interrupted as I heard what seemed like explosions and debris being thrown about. I looked towards the school again and saw that the twins were now outside fighting somebody and when I looked closely, I saw that it was Miss Martian.

I remembered her from the news as well. She was floating high above the twins. The brother of which looked more like his pictures now, how he changed that look quickly was astounding. He was more muscular and so much taller than his sister. He continuously grabbed anything heavy and big near him and kept throwing it towards the hero as she narrowly avoided the attempted attacks.

"Where's the sister?", I wondered and just like a coincidence to slap me in the face, Tuppence appeared from nowhere jumping in Miss Martian's direction. The hero was caught off guard as she was pulled back down to Earth by the stronger girl on top of her.

The brother put down the tree he had in his hand and began to slowly walk to Miss Martian as the sister kept her held down. She was asking the alien something, but I couldn't make it out.

From the look of things, if this continues, they'll kill her and there was no one to stop it. It reminded me of mom. There was no one to help her…

"No", I said, "This is the age of heroes, there'll always be someone to help." Without thinking, I sprinted towards the battle in front of me. I stopped only a few feet near the twins who looked ready to kill. I looked around and noticed a bunch of rocks, a distraction can work.

I grabbed a rock and quickly threw it at the twins, with it landing on the boy's back but not noticeable enough. Probably cause he'd made of nothing but muscle. I aimed another rock, this time aiming for the sister and threw. It landed on her forehead distracting her for a moment as Miss Martian flipped her over and started gaining her ability to fight again.

I raised my arms in celebration, which was cut short as I saw that Tommy Terror now had his sight on me.

"I'm sorry.", I squeaked.

He roared as he ran my way with anger in his eyes. I wasted no time in running off as fast as I could with a practical giant on my tail. As I ran, I looked for a place to hide. Shop, Car, Dumpster, anything. Instead, I tripped over some sort of elongated branch as I landed on my face.

I groaned as I turned back to see Tommy literally only a few steps from me.

SHIT

I tried to crawl away, but Tommy stood his concrete-like foot on my back holding me in place.

"You think you can attack sister Tuppence like that and not expect consequences?", he asked as he pressed his foot down into my back causing me to groan in pain, "Well, it looks like you're gonna have to learn."

He pressed further down and pulled back his fist as he was ready to punch me into next week.

"Mother", I thought. I closed my eyes as I waited for what came next. Instead, I felt the weight of Tommy's foot leave my back abruptly and opened my eyes to see that he was punched back a bit by a dark-haired, muscular young man.

My eyes lingered on him as he turned round to see if I was alright and I saw who it was.

Superboy.

He turned to face Tommy and began to fight him. However, it didn't seem fruitful as he ended up blocking more punches than giving them. He growled with every punch he attempted as he continued to fight Tommy to a defeat, but right now they looked at a stalemate.

I turned to see how the martian was doing with Tuppence. She seemed to be doing more better. She had Tuppence pinned and looked ready to declare victory.

I looked back to Superboy who didn't seem to be doing better. I wouldn't be surprised when compared to muscle mountain. He needed help. I scanned the area for opportunities and came up with an idea when I saw the trees and how Tommy was quite close to them.

So stealthily, I crawled around the fight and climbed up a tree behind Tommy and slowly made my way to a branch which extended over Tommy's head. As he was about to strike, I jumped and landed on his back to distract him. And Dad said it was bad for my health to binge watch Harry Potter.

I wrapped my arms around Tommy's neck and started to repeatedly kick his back as he turned his attention back to me. "Leave him alone.", I told him as I hung on for dear life. Connor started to attack Tommy while he was distracted, able to land more blows to the guy's midsection.

"Annoying little urchin.", Tommy called me. He ignored me for a second as he kicked Connor away so he had all his attention on me.

I was just having the worst luck today.

Tommy backed us up into a tree as he started squeezing my fragile body between him and the tree. It quickly cut off my access to air and I started gasping for air. In my struggle, I released my arms and Tommy took his chance to turn around and punch me into the tree.

Any traces of air I had left in me quickly disappeared as I gasped, but he didn't stop. He punched me another time into the ground and straddled my hips as he continued to punch me with his best strength.

 _punch_

If he kept this up, he'll surely kill me with his strength. But I already knew that was his intent. I thought about what I did when I intervened in the fight and I couldn't be prouder of myself. Although Dad probably wouldn't see it that way.

 _punch_

I thought about how I ended up in this position through my wanting to go to a normal school and I didn't regret it. I made great friends, like Connor and Megan. And I really enjoyed it.

 _punch_

I'm sorry Dad that I intervened against your wishes, even if it was to help others.

 _punch_

I'm sorry Connor and Megan. For not sticking around long enough to do the stereotypical traditions of high school, and enjoying the laughs afterwards.

 _punch_

I'm sorry Mom. For not being able to do anything, that night you died.

 _punch_

I love you, Mom,

 _punch_

I'll see you soon.

I awaited for the deathly blow, but it appears I might've been saved again as Tommy was lifted off me. I wanted to know what was happening, but I couldn't find the strength to move my head.

Not only that, but things were slowly becoming blurry and everything kept hurting worse. I knew I was dying.

Suddenly I saw two shapes above me that looked very familiar. "Connor?", I croaked, "Megan?"

The strength of my eyelids were too much and they fell as I waited for death.


End file.
